Art of two Taiwanese illustrators receives WIA award

Taiwanese illustrators snag top awards in England's World Illustration Awards

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Two Taiwanese designers received awards at the prestigious 2018 World Illustration Awards (WIA) on June 9 in England.

One winner was chosen for each of the 16 categories from over 3,300 entries. The work of the winners will be shown in an exhibition at the Somerset House June 7 - 20 as part of the largest Somerset House show to date.

Hsu Shih-hsien - Books (New Talent)

After traveling to Sweden, Finland, and Denmark in 2017, Hsu Shih-hsien (徐世賢) documented the warm encounters and cold weather of his travels in the zine, "Nordic Happiness," for which he was awarded the WIA award in the New Talent Books category.

While creating the zine, the illustrator camped out in cafes in various cities to observe how people interact with their environment. Hsu is currently studying at the Royal College of Art.

Chen Wu - Editorial (New Talent)

A recent graduate of National Taiwan Normal University, 24-year-old Chen Wu (吳箏) received the WIA award in the New Talent Editorial category for the work, "Eggs."

(Image from Chen Wu)

"Eggs" symbolizes "the infinite possibilities of eggs with their closed arc of rounded whiteness, which always carries the imagination before its incubation and contains the imagination of the future unknown... This work is devoted to enhancing children's curiosity and imagination about food," according to the Association of Illustrators website.

Chen's work was included in a Victionary yearly art review, by Hong Kong Press, as well as in a volume of Asia Pacific Design.

(Image from Chen Wu's Facebook)

Chen told LTN that he hopes to "end the commercialization of illustration and that people see illustration as art."